The Mage
by daraidiay
Summary: "No way." Dean breathed. At the unfamiliar voice, the man's head snapped up and he glanced around. "Ah...Is it September first already?"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Harry was irritated.

After a harrowing summer with no contact from his friends, looking for every scrap of news he could manage to get his hands on to try and get some clue as to what Voldemort had been up to, he learned that his friends were living in the headquarters of the current main opposing force to Voldemort. (The only one, actually, since the ministry had decided he was apparently touched in the head and Cedric's death was orchestrated merely to give Dumbledore an excuse to usurp the minister.) Had learned that his friends hadn't contacted him for the sole reason of 'the headmaster had told them not to'. The headmaster who was ignoring him. Who didn't have the decency to even look at him during his hearing, which of course he was subjected to after using magic in self defense whilst being attacked by dementors in a Muggle neighborhood.

And now, Hagrid's missing and that toa- er, woman- who was at his hearing is sitting at the staff table. With his luck, he wouldn't be surprised if she was the new DADA teacher.

He stabbed moodily at a piece of chicken with his fork.

"Harry..." He looked up to see Hermione biting her lip. She continued quietly. "Are you still mad? You are, aren't you? I'm sorry! Really! I know it's not really an excuse, but Professor Dumbledore just made so much _sense..._!"

Harry sighed. "Hermione-".

"...and with you being in a Muggle neighborhood owls would just draw so much attention, and with _Him_ on the loose..."

"Hermione-" Harry tried again.

"... and it would be really hard for you to get any magical help if something happened, so the guards really _seemed_ like a good option..."

"Hermione!" She fell silent. Harry raked his hand through his hair and continued in a low voice that mirrored Hermione's. "It's fine. I'm not mad- well, I am." Hermione wilted. "But not at you guys! I'm just annoyed that nobody's telling us anything. I feel like I'm being treated like a child, especially by Mrs. Weasley -er, no offense Ron."

"None taken." Ron said.

Or, well, Harry assumed he had said. It was hard to tell what with his mouth full of food.

"It's just- we deserve to know." Harry continued. "It's not like ignorance is going to make the problem go away."

"Try telling that to the ministry." Hermione muttered scathingly.

"I get where you're coming from mate, really, but there's nothing we can do about it now." Ron -and he had swallowed before hand, so Harry knew for sure- said quietly, and then in a more normal tone. "We'll worry about it later. Just enjoy the feast before it's over."

Harry gave up and started eating, trying to ignore the various looks and whispers which, thankfully, were becoming less frequent as students became more focused on their dinner and catching up with friends.

Not too long after Harry had finished his last bite of treacle tart, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," Dumbledore started. "First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students-and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too." He said that last part with laughter in his voice.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; our second change of staff is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher-"

"Hem, hem." Dumbledore was interrupted with a girlish cough coming from the end of the staff table. Searching for the source of the sound, Harry saw that Umbridge was standing up and seemed to be gearing up for a speech.

 _'Wait!'_ Harry thought, panicked as he considered the only new addition to the staff table. _'I was just sulking! I wasn't being serious about her being our new DADA professor!'_

For his part, Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat down smartly and looked alertly at Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish, grating on Harry and the rest of the unwilling audience's ears.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Harry glanced around. None of the faces he could see looked happy. On the contrary, they all looked rather taken-aback at being addressed as though they were five years old.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins.

"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan," Parvati whispered to Lavender, and both of them lapsed into silent giggles.

Umbridge cleared her throat again.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering."

Harry could feel himself starting to zone out and, by the glazed looks on his roommates' faces, he wasn't the only one. Strangely enough, (or maybe not, considering she was the only one who could not only stay awake but also take notes in History of Magic) Hermione seemed to be listening attentively. And as Harry watched her lips thin and brow furrow, he could tell she didn't like what she was hearing.

"A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation-"

To the collective relief of the Great Hall, she was interrupted when the doors opened.

As Umbridge faltered in her speech, heads- student and staff alike- turned to look at whomever it was that had caused the disruption. They stared disbelievingly at the man who had entered the Great Hall and was currently walking towards the staff table.

Harry wasn't sure what he would cite as the oddest thing about the stranger.

Like most of the hall, the man was dressed all in black. Instead of robes, however, he seemed to be clad in...was that leather? He was also completely bedecked with silver and gold jewelry: bracelets, armlets, rings, necklaces- _'Is he wearing a collar?'-_ , even earrings. If that wasn't enough, the man's clothes and boots were covered in silver buckles and he had two belts on, one of which was covered in strange pouches.

Even his hair was abnormal. Pulled back in a spiky ponytail, it was pitch black with streaks of fiery magenta. There were flashes of gold near his face, which Harry couldn't see, as it was stuck firmly in a large, old tome.

To complete the picture, hovering in the air around the man were three... _things_. Harry almost assumed they were ghosts, what with the way they moved through the air. Looking closer, he could see that they had color to them, albeit all washed out pastels. They also seemed more substantial than the Hogwarts ghosts, though they're forms seemed to be constantly shifting, fading, and twisting, so he couldn't be sure. As he was watching, he observed that, as much as the details changed, the beings all seemed to prefer a delicate, feminine form with sleek wings.

The assembled students and staff continued to stare as the man walked to the staff table and sat down directly between- Harry winced- a scowling Professor Snape and a smiling Madam Pince.

Wait _smiling_? Harry did a double take. No, he hadn't imagined it; she was smiling. He hadn't been sure she was capable of it. In fact, he would have expected her to be biting the stranger's head off for daring to read a book outside of the library- and at the dinner table, no less! Granted, the food was long gone, but _still_. Yet there she was, smiling and looking at the man with a downright _fond_ expression. Harry was beginning to question whether there was anything normal about the man at all.

The stranger was the first to break the silence that had descended since he had opened the doors.

"Sorry I'm late, Headmaster. I seem to have lost track of time." He said without looking up from his book.

"Quite alright, my boy." The headmaster said, eyes twinkling. "However, you seem to have missed dinner- do remember to eat once you've retired to your rooms for the night."

The man gave an absentminded hum of affirmation, his head still buried in his book.

Professor Snape scowled. " _Mr. Muto_ -"

"One moment, Severus," the man cut Snape off, "this passage is utterly _fascinating_."

All around the hall, jaws had dropped. Harry assumed (and in some instances, was absolutely correct) it was due to the flippancy with which the man had brushed off the potions professor, but then-

" _No way_." Dean breathed.

At the unfamiliar voice, the man's head snapped up and he glanced around. "Ah...Is it September first already?"


	2. Chapter 2

_"_ No way _." Dean breathed._

 _At the unfamiliar voice, the man's head snapped up and he glanced around. "Ah...Is it September first already?"_

Chapter 2

Dumbledore chuckled. "It is indeed."

The man- What had Snape called him? Mutu? Moto?- rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ah, I see. It appears I've lost track of even more time than I had thought." He gave the headmaster a slight bow. "My sincerest apologies headmaster. And to the Sorting Hat as well- I was looking forward to that song it's been working on."

The man finally closed his book and started to put it to the side. Before he could set it down, though, one of the creatures that had been hovering around him gave a series of chirps and croons. The man smiled at- it? her?- and replied, "Ah, yes, thank you; that would be very helpful." He handed the book off to the being, which in turn zoomed out of the hall.

Hermione made a strangled sound as the creature passed her. Before Harry could ask why, Dumbledore continued.

"Never fear, my boy; the Sorting Hat is always happy to give a repeat performance. In fact, it remembers every song it has performed throughout the many years and is willing to accept requests. I, myself have enjoyed several concerts. I have developed something of an ambition to hear the song from every year since the Founding. I believe I am up to the year-" Professor McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly. "Er, but that is something to discuss later; to business, now. Though you have unfortunately missed the feast, you're right on time for your introduction." He turned to the tables of still-gawking students.

"Now then. I believe I have already informed you of a change in staff for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Harry held his breath. _'Does that mean it isn't-?'_

"Which means all that's left is to introduce him." Harry let out his breath in a sigh of relief. _'Him. So, not Umbridge...Probably.'_

"Students, this is your new professor, Y-"

" _That's YUGI MUTO_!" Dumbledore was interrupted by an excited shout from one of the new first years seated at the Ravenclaw table.

It was like a dam had burst. The Great Hall was suddenly flooded with noise, students no longer sleepy from the long train ride and the meal, but chattering excitedly. Or, as in Harry's case, trying to figure out what was happening.

Harry turned to Ron. "Who?" Ron shrugged. "Don't look at me, mate. Hermione?" But as they turned to her they saw she was still staring at the creatures and sputtering. "Hermione, what are you- actually, never mind. One thing at a time." Harry searched for a more coherent source of information and, as he looked around, saw he wasn't the only one.

Actually, Harry realized with some satisfaction, it looked like _none_ of the Slytherins knew what was going on.

The students quieted when a series of bangs sounded from the staff table. Harry looked over to see McGonagall with her wand raised and such a stern expression on her face, he felt the urge to fix his tie and sit up straight.

"Well," Dumbledore began with a smile. "Happily, it seems that quite a few of you know, or at the very least know _of_ our new professor. For the rest of you, however, I'm afraid it's getting quite late, and you will have to wait until class for further introductions. For now, I believe it's best time for b-"

The headmaster was, however, interrupted for a third time that night.

"Wait just a moment, Dumbledore!" If the shrill voice was any indication, it seemed Umbridge had recovered from the interruption. Harry looked over to see her face was a blotchy red color, verging on purple. "You can't just-just _pick up_ a new professor the night the first term starts!"

Dumbledore looked surprised. "Whatever do you mean, Dolores? At the start of the summer, I believe I informed you and the minister that I would have someone for the position by the beginning of the term."

"But that was-! You said you _would_ , you never said you _had_ a professor!" She sputtered. She pulled herself together enough to demand, "In any case, what are his qualifications? Although the students seem to think this man is someone important, I'm afraid I, the _Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic_ ," she emphasized as much as possible, "have never heard of him."

Several of said students made indignant noises at her implication that their intelligence was inferior to her own.

The teachers looked just as indignant as the students, though Dumbledore seemed jovial as ever. "To my knowledge, Hogwarts has _never_ needed Ministry approval in order to hire staff." Madam Hooch bit out. Umbridge cut her a glare.

"Maa, maa." A gentle voice with a slight accent cut through the tense atmosphere. Harry looked over at the ma-er, Professor Muto- to see him rubbing the back of his head again, looking vaguely embarrassed by all the commotion. "Let's all calm down a bit, yes? It seems like all of our tempers are running a little high with the late hour and long trip. There's no harm in making sure the students have a proper teacher, after all. Ms. Umbridge, was it? You asked about my qualifications?" He smiled kindly.

" _Madam_ Umbridge, if you please," she corrected, looking smug. She continued in a sugary tone, "And yes. You see, if you were somehow a famous wizard, I would have heard of you. I just don't want the poor students to be taken advantage of somehow if you've been filling their heads with false impressions."

Harry and several of the other 'poor students' glared at her.

"Ah, I see. Don't worry, I'm not. You haven't been misinformed." He reassured.

"Not famous?" She questioned, looking gleeful. "So you've somehow tricked-".

She broke off as Professor Muto chuckled lightheartedly.

"No, no. I apologize, I should have been clearer. You see, I'm not a wizard." He said in almost an offhand tone.

Silence.

Then-

"Not a-!" she shrieked, amid incredulous shouts from students. "You can't mean you're a- a _Muggle_! A Muggle, teaching at a wizard school- no, an unknown Muggle even knowing about our world- Dumbledore! What on earth are you _thinking_!"

There was such a commotion, however, that Dumbledore wasn't able to answer her. Professor McGonagall had to make several loud bangs with her wand before the noise level came back down.

"Madam Umbridge," she began frostily. "I would thank you to gather all the facts first before making wild accusations and inciting a panic!"

"Gather all the facts?!" Umbridge squawked. "He just admitted he wasn't a wizard! The only other option is Muggle!"

She paled suddenly. "Unless-," here her voice somehow gained an even higher pitch, and Harry was tempted to cover his ears, "unless you're a magical _creature_!" She directed the almost-question towards the new professor.

For his part, Professor Muto looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Well, I can tell you I'm not a magical creature, but I'm afraid I'm not sure what that other word means. I'm from Japan, you see, so English isn't my first language. I'm fairly fluent, but I don't believe I've ever heard the word 'muggle' before. Would you mind explaining?" He asked politely.

"It means," she said through gritted teeth, face starting to purple-Harry vaguely wondered whether that was healthy- again after the new professor admitted to being a foreigner, "that you are a non-magical person. Someone who _should not be here_!" She ended in a hiss.

"Ah." Professor Muto intoned, with laughter in his eyes and a mischievous quirk to his mouth- not that Umbridge had noticed in the state she was in. "I apologize for the misunderstanding once again. I can assure you, Madam, I am not a Muggle." His vaguely mischievous smile turned into a full blown smirk.

"I'm a Mage."


	3. Chapter 3

_"Ah." Professor Muto intoned, with laughter in his eyes and a mischievous quirk to his mouth- not that Umbridge had noticed in the state she was in. "I apologize for the misunderstanding once again. I can assure you, Madam, I am not a Muggle." His vaguely mischievous smile turned into a full blown smirk._

 _"I'm a Mage."_

Chapter 3

Harry watched curiously as Madam Umbridge's entire body seemed to freeze. Her left eye looked to have spontaneously developed a twitch, and the condescending smile on her face she had worn for most of the night had taken on a slightly crazed edge. Several of the first years nearest her leaned away nervously as her mouth started opening and closing, no sound escaping.

"Is something the matter, Madam?" Somehow, Professor Muto's countenance remained unwaveringly polite, yet it was obvious he was deeply amused.

"I- I beg your pardon," she said breathlessly, "I could have sworn you just said you were a-a..." she trailed off with a slightly hysteric giggle.

"A Mage?" The newest professor interjected kindly. Harry wondered at how sincere he sounded. "Not to worry, Madam. You heard correctly." He gave her a reassuring smile. Harry barely held back a snort.

"Impossible!" She laughed, her hysteria more pronounced.

"My dear Dolores," Dumbledore interjected, brows furrowed while his eyes twinkled madly, "I thought you knew."

"Knew?" She whipped her head around at him, equal parts confused and manic. "But-but, I came here. Tonight. I came. The minister told you. I thought-"

"Yes," he said cheerfully, "It seems we've misinterpreted each other. You see, I had assumed the minister wanted to extend a diplomatic hand to the Mage Court through our new professor, and decided sending an ambassador in the form of yourself would be the best option. It sounds as though _he_ has assumed I was unable to procure a Defense professor and decided to extend a, ah, _helping hand_."

 _'So_ that's _what she's doing here.'_ Harry thought, making a small noise of comprehension, echoed by other students around the hall.

"Diplomatic- to the Mage Court- ambassador?" Umbridge stammered, looking torn between fainting and wringing Dumbledore's neck if the clenching and unclenching of her hands was any indication.

"Are you quite alright, Madam?" -Professor Muto glanced at their audience, a slight furrow forming on his brow- "Perhaps it would be better if we discussed this amongst the three of us. Although tomorrow _is_ Saturday, it's getting to be considerably late, and the students need their rest. I'm sure some sleep wouldn't be unwelcome for the professors, either. Or yourself, of course." He said gently, looking nothing but concerned despite the slight dig. The image was only slightly marred by the two remaining creatures hovering around him giggling madly behind their... Harry would just call them hands for now, though they looked more like the ever-changing edges of clouds on a windy day.

Harry raised his own hand to hide the grin forming on his face at Umbridge's slightly lost look as she tried to decide whether she was being insulted somehow by the kind-faced man (she was- he was sure if it).

"An excellent idea, Yugi!" Headmaster Dumbledore announced. "Dolores, would you like to rest here for the night and have the three of us talk in the morning, or would you prefer we discuss this now, in my office perhaps?" As he spoke, the headmaster gestured towards Professor Muto, prompting Umbridge to flick her eyes towards the man.

She made a choked sound as the creatures suddenly draped themselves across his shoulders and fluttered their just-formed eyelashes at her.

Harry's cheeks were beginning to hurt from the smile that was still hidden by his hand.

"No," her voice was that high pitch again, but at least she wasn't screeching, "I- I believe I'll just inform the minister of this new- hem, hem- _situation_ we've found ourselves in and- and he will get back to you. Yes. Yes, I'll just need to collect my belongings and-"

"Ah, I'll accompany you." Professor Muto stood up, the creatures once again hovering in the air around him.

"That's not necessary-" she hastened to deter him, but was cut off.

"Nonsense." He said firmly. "This castle's a maze on a good day. With how tired you must be from the stress of an unnecessary trip" -Harry saw a few people begin to shake with suppressed laughter at the Defense professor's subtle gibe - "it would be far too easy to get lost."

Umbridge made to open her mouth, no doubt to continue the argument, but shut it quickly with a faint squeak as one of the creatures got too close to her for comfort. She promptly turned on her heel and headed towards the Entrance Hall, looking to be moving as fast as possible without outright running.

Following Umbridge out, Professor Muto turned back slightly towards the Great Hall and gave the students a wink just before the Entrance Hall doors closed.

Harry, having put his hand down when Umbridge had her back to him, clapped it back over his mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping, as he didn't want the sudden noise to shock the woman into getting ahold of herself.

He turned back to the staff table when Dumbledore began speaking once more.

"Well, now that that's reasonably settled," Harry almost started laughing when Professor Flitwick snickered, "I believe it would be best if your Heads of Houses led you back to your dormitories for the night. Although this is usually a task for our esteemed prefects, as Professor Muto said, it is getting quite late, and Hogwarts can indeed be a maze." He said, laughter in his voice. "Off you pop!"

Harry and the rest of Gryffindor house followed Professor McGonagall towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Mimbuius mimbletonia." She intoned as they reached the painting of the Fat Lady. Harry piled into the common room with the rest of his House as the portrait door swung open. "Goodnight, students. Do try to get _some_ sleep tonight." She said solemnly, though her lips were twitching.

"Goodnight, Professor." The students replied, just as grave.

As Professor McGonagall stepped into the hallway, the door swung shut behind her.

And the Common Room was promptly filled with shrieking laughter.

* * *

 **RT89: Hope you're satisfied with the reaction! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_As Professor McGonagall stepped into the hallway, the door swung shut behind her._

 _And the Common Room was promptly filled with shrieking laughter._

Chapter 4

"Did you see her _face_?" Alicia gasped, then collapsed back into giggles.

"I didn't know skin could turn that color!" Angelina replied.

"I actually saw Snape _smirk_ when he said 'unnecessary trip'!" Parvati exclaimed. Ron's eyes bugged. "You're barmy!"

"And he looked so sincere the whole time! I don't even think she realized he was mocking her! Heck, _I_ wasn't sure until he winked!" Lee had tears running down his face at this point.

"A true master!" The twins crowed.

Several students had collapsed, laughing, to the floor. Harry almost joined them- he was nearly doubled in half as it was.

"Oh, man it was like watching him duel without his cards." Dean proclaimed when he got his breath back. This sent a good portion of students back into hysterics. Before Harry could ask what he meant, Lavender chimed in.

"But-but the best thing were those ghosts!"

Seamus snickered. "Right? I thought she was going to have a heart attack when she saw them! No such luck, though."

"Those _were_ ghosts then?" Collin asked eagerly. "I thought they might have been poltergeists since they had color. And one of them actually held that book, remember?"

"That might explain Hermione's face all night." Alicia teased good-naturedly. "Three more poltergeists plus Peeves must be a nightmare for a prefect."

It seemed Hermione had finally snapped out of her state of shock during the course of the conversation. She rolled her eyes. "Those weren't poltergeists. They were _sylphs_."

Harry blinked. ' _What?'_

Hermione was subjected to several skeptical looks from students all around the common room. There likely would have been more, but the majority of the residents of Gryffindor Tower were still laughing so hard they were having trouble breathing.

"Come off it, Hermione." Fred scoffed, though the effect was ruined by his wide grin.

"There hasn't been a sylph sighting for over a hundred years." George continued.

"Er, guys," Harry broke in, eyebrows furrowed, "what is a, um, slif, exactly?"

Hermione sighed in mild exasperation. "A _sylph_ , Harry, is an air spirit. They're known to be guardians of knowledge and you used to be able to find them in every Wizarding library in the world, and even some of the more impressive Muggle ones."

She scowled. "Then, the library of Alexandria burned down. Sylphs didn't want anything to do with humans after they destroyed such an amazing store of knowledge. They started to disappear and there isn't really a consensus on where they went." Her expression turned from sour to that of excited awe. "Which is why it's so incredible that _three_ of them were there! Professor Muto was actually _conversing_ with them! Oh, I can't wait to ask him about it! We're going to learn so much this year!" She was practically vibrating with excitement.

"You know," Neville spoke up, looking thoughtful, "sylphs were actually considered the first librarians. They would clean the libraries and take care of the books; make sure they were ordered correctly and always in good repair and stuff. I wonder if that's why Madam Pince looked so happy?"

"Oh, good, you saw her smile, too? I thought I was going crazy." Lee cut in. There were several snickers and more nods.

"Hey, by the way," Ginny began, laughter clear in her voice, "someone want to explain to us plebeians why there was such a big reaction to our new professor? And what was that about him dueling? If he's famous for it, I feel like more of us would know about him."

Dean blinked at her. "Oh, right. Sometimes I forget Wizards don't really pay attention to what goes on in the Muggle world."

"Wait, he's famous in the Muggle world?" Parvati broke in, looking surprised. Harry was, too.

Most Wizards didn't care to integrate themselves any further into the Muggle world than they absolutely had to. Even those with a vested interest in the Muggle world, such as Mr. Weasley, only ventured into it for brief stretches of time. Heck, _Muggleborns_ tended to pick one world over the other, as it was exhausting to split their time between the two completely different cultures.

Harry knew first-hand how hard it was to just keep up to date with news from one world when you were staying in the other. Not to mention culture and keeping in touch with friends. Every time he went back to the Dursley's for the summer, Dudley seemed to have new tech and new slang. If Harry cared to try and keep up with it all, he knew he'd have a lot of trouble. And although he didn't have any, he could imagine how Muggle friendships would quickly become strained with one party missing for most of the year, without even being able to tell the other where they went or what they were doing.

Suffice to say, Harry couldn't imagine being famous in the Muggle world _and_ being integrated enough in the Wizarding world to be able to become a professor. Maybe it was different for Mages (Magi?)?

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts as Dean continued. "Yeah. He _is_ actually famous for dueling, just not the kind you're thinking of."

"What, like fighting or something?" Katie interjected curiously.

"Nah, he's-"

"He's the King of Games!" Dennis exclaimed, bouncing in place.

"King!?" Ron spluttered. Several people gained wide-eyed looks.

Hermione rolled her eyes for a second time that night. "Relax, Ronald. It's merely an arbitrary title he was awarded. It would be more accurate to call him a champion."

"It _used_ to be arbitrary." Dean corrected, looking mildly annoyed by the interruption. "At this point it actually _is_ accurate to call him the King of Games."

"Hold on," Ginny said, "Start at the beginning. Where did the title come from in the first place?"

Dean grimaced a bit. "That's gonna be a little hard to explain since you guys don't know much about the modern day Muggle world." He shrugged. "I'll do my best, though."

"See, there's this popular Muggle card game called Duel Monsters. It's basically a strategy game where you use Monster, Trap, and Spell cards in different combinations to make your opponent's Life Points reach zero before your own. It started getting really popular after this company called KaibaCorp started developing Solid Vision, which created holographic effects every time you played a card." He paused at the confused looks he was getting. "Er, basically like how Wizard chess pieces react when you make a move, except with a lot more features because there are so many different kinds of cards." He continued after receiving several nods of understanding.

"As for his title, Yugi received it as part of winning a tournament where he was up against some of the best duelists in the world. The tournament was held by Maximilian Pegasus who's actually the creator of the game, so for duelists, the title was pretty legitimate."

Katie hummed thoughtfully from her spot next to Alicia, where she was listening to the explanation. "So that's what you meant by arbitrary. But, Hermione would be right then, wouldn't she? He should just be considered the World Champion of Duel Monsters, or something?"

"That's why I said it _used_ to be arbitrary." Dean explained. "See, a lot of other World Champs thought the same thing. They started contesting Yugi's title, but they didn't make very much headway since, like I said, it was the creator of Duel Monsters who gave him the title in the first place, so the title couldn't just be dismissed offhand like they could if he was given it by a magazine or newspaper or something. So, some of the Champs thought it would be easier if they just challenged him outright and presumably, when Yugi lost, it would be clear that the title was way too broad."

"Makes sense." The twins said.

Dean gave them a knowing look. "Only thing is, Yugi didn't lose. And I'm not talking one or two people. Well, at first maybe. But after he kept winning, more people started challenging him. And not just the World or Regional Champs, either. He got issued challenges by everyone from beginners to professionals, in all kinds of games. Backgammon, chess, go, shogi, poker, draughts, mahjong, marbles, capsule monsters, mancala, dominoes, scrabble- you name it, players showed up and challenged him. Of course, that includes other duelists.

"Since there weren't really any regulations to the title King of Games, basically if Yugi lost to anyone, that person would have a legitimate claim to it, which was what attracted so many people. Well, finally Pegasus and the CEO- er, I mean the head- of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba, decided enough was enough and hashed out the regulations for Yugi's title. Of course, they went through the proper channels and stuff to get it approved around the world, but that's less important. Basically, being the King of Games means that you've bested over half of the game Champions of the world, as well as the previous King of Games. You have to be specifically playing for the title, too, since the King of Games is allowed to enter tournaments for reasons other than defending his title. Otherwise, I imagine it'd get pretty boring. Since Yugi met these requirements, not counting the previous King of Games thing since he's the first, he still holds his title."

"So, does that mean that you can be King of Games without necessarily being a World Champion?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean replied. "Yugi's actually considered the World Champion of Duel Monsters, but for any other Championship title, he'd have to enter and win a tournament specifically being held for it. Also, if the World Champion of something ever loses their title to someone else, unless the new person challenges Yugi and wins, Yugi is still considered to have bested the World Champ of that game."

"Wow," Alicia said, "I can see where all the hype came from. Even without having seen him in action, I'm seriously impressed."

Dean nodded. "And that's just the basic rundown."

"There's more?" Ron said incredulously.

Dean laughed. "Oh, loads. Like, even before Yugi started getting challenged by the World Champs, he'd never lost a duel. Still hasn't, actually. But you wanna know the really impressive thing? Remember when I said he was being challenged left and right before the regulations? Well, because there weren't any regulations, it was considered possible for Yugi to lose his title through forfeit. So, he just took on all the challenges. And there were _hundreds_. Sometimes, he'd even go up against several people at once. Not to mention over half of his opponents were players of games he didn't have any expertise in. And he's _still_ undefeated, on top of basically being the reason the entire gaming world had to be restructured. _That's_ why he's so famous."

Dean laughed at the wide-eyed looks. "Yeah, that's pretty much how the rest of the world reacted, too. And you haven't even seen a duel yet."

"Speaking of, you never explained what you meant by him dueling Umbridge without his cards." Parvati said curiously.

"Oh, right. Well when Yugi, or anyone else really, duels, he plays mind games. That's half the duel, actually. You try to psyche your opponent out. If you do it right, you can completely cripple their strategy. Your opponent might start doubting themselves and try to change their strategy last minute, or they make a bunch of mistakes by trying to hurry their game plan along, or they'll actually start ranting about how great their strategy is and basically lay it all out when they think they've got you cornered, or all number of things, really. It's seriously cool to watch."

"Oh, so...you were talking about how he was mocking her without her noticing, and then got her to leave without much of a fuss, then?" Parvati guessed.

"It was more than that," Hermione interjected, "Professor Muto didn't just make Umbridge leave- he made leaving seem like her own idea, one she came up with in front of a room full of witnesses. She can't somehow spin it so that it seems like she was intimidated into it by him or something similar to try and get him dismissed."

"Why would she want him dismissed?" Ginny interrupted.

"Weren't you listening to her?" Hermione asked.

"You were?" Ginny countered incredulously.

Hermione sighed. "Basically, the Ministry wants to interfere at Hogwarts. And from the way Umbridge was talking, it sounds like they'd like to stamp down on any and all ideas they don't agree with. But as I was saying, since Umbridge left of her own accord, she doesn't really have a reason to come back. And instead of leaving her be to come up with a reason to come back later, it was already suggested that the only reason she would have to come back is to visit Professor Muto from a diplomatic standpoint, seeing as he's a Mage. Meaning even if she does find her way back here, it will be on his terms.

"And it's not like she can just go around spreading outlandish accusations about him to make people wary- say, accusing him of being a dark Wizard or something- since he _just so happened_ to let it slip that he's a Mage. If that wasn't enough, he came into the Great Hall surrounded by _sylphs_ , whom he could communicate with and who obviously seemed to like him. As mischievous as sylphs can be, they hate it when people try to use knowledge for harm; they've been known to abhor people with ill intent, sometimes even going so far as to attack them. For them to react so well in Professor Muto's presence is the best proof of his good will short of declaring his intentions under veritaserum.

"All in all, Professor Muto just made himself seem interesting in the most positive way possible. And we all know Wizards are terrible gossips; they'll be watching for any news about him after this. Umbridge won't be able to touch him for a while, meaning she won't be able to touch _Hogwarts_ for a while, at least not without looking seriously suspicious. It really was a masterful manipulation on Professor Muto's part."

There were wide-eyed stares and gaping mouths all around when she finished. "Wow," Angelina muttered after a few seconds of silence, "I knew you were smart, Hermione, but to get all of that out of one conversation..." She trailed off, shaking her head slightly in bewilderment as several heads nodded in tandem. A pleased flush slowly spread up Hermione's cheeks at the praise.

"You know," Fred began in a mock-thoughtful voice, lips curling into the beginnings of a sly smile, "I believe our dear new prefect is right, wouldn't you agree Gred?"

"Oh, wholeheartedly, Forge." George mirrored the look.

Hermione eyed them suspiciously. "Right about what?"

The twins grinned at her and exclaimed together, "We're going to learn _so much_ this year!"

Alicia raised an amused eyebrow at their antics. "Somehow, the idea of you two learning something from him scares me silly." She said dryly, spurring another round of giggles.

Harry decided to take advantage of the slight lull in conversation in order to ask about something else that had been bothering him.

"Hey, Hermione," he ignored the cool looks some people were giving him now that they had calmed down enough to notice who was speaking, "what does being a Mage mean? And is it really that big of a deal if the new professor is one?"

"Hey, yeah, I was wondering the same thing!" Dennis broke in, hand raised as if they were in class and bouncing like he was on a sugar high (which, actually, he probably _was_ , considering the countless array of desserts no Hogwarts feast would be complete without). Collin nodded eagerly, backing his brother up with a beaming smile.

Harry forged ahead, valiantly ignoring the adoring looks the pair sent his way (honestly, he almost preferred the glares). "As funny as Umbridge's reaction was-"

"And it was _hilarious-_ " Lee interjected.

"-I don't really get why it was so extreme." He finished with an exasperated, if amused, glance at Lee.

Hermione's brow furrowed. "That's actually rather complicated. When I was reading about Magi in the library-"

"When did you have time to go to the library?!" Ron spluttered.

Hermione rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Last year, Ronald." Ron's ears turned red. "Oh, right."

"Anyway," Hermione continued, lips twitching, "since we didn't know what to expect for the first task, I searched through as many books as I could for anything that might be useful. I did find a few books that mentioned Magi, but there really wasn't anything in them that seemed applicable for you, so I wasn't able to look into the subject as much as I'd have liked." She admitted with a frown.

"What I _did_ read was all rather contradictory. From what I was able to gather, very little is actually known about Magi. On top of that, their interaction with Wizarding society is sporadic at best, which makes the information even less reliable. Their society is definitely structured differently from Wizards, but none of the authors really seemed to agree on _how_ it was different. While all the authors agree that Magi are governed by something called a 'Mage Court', nobody really agreed on what that meant. Some books mentioned a hierarchy with the Court at the top, but then others clearly stated that the Magi are divided into clans and the Court consists of representatives and doesn't really have much ruling power over individuals.

"There were some very old books that seemed more accurately detailed, but the information they gave was either too general or too specific to be of _any_ use- something like 'Magi are considered very powerful beings' for the former and, say, a fairly notorious Mage's favorite food for the latter." She said when several people shot her a confused look, before resuming her explanation. ' _Or is it a rant at this point?_ ' Harry mused, smothering a grin.

"And who knows what's changed since then. Basically, the consensus is that Magi are powerful, they use a different type of magic than Wizards, are ruled over by a Mage Court, and that the Founders enlisted some for help when building Hogwarts," she nodded at Harry's startled look, then grimaced, "-though there's no detail as to _what_ they did, so I'm not sure if they had any input on classes or if they were only asked to help strengthen the wards or something else entirely. One author claimed that the Founders actually _got_ the idea of building a school from Magi, but another disagreed on the basis that while Wizards actively try not to interact with Muggles, Magi are much more integrated with non-magical society- although I really don't know where the basis for such a statement came from- so it wouldn't make much sense for a Mage to suggest that Wizards try to isolate themselves, even through the use of something as benign as a school."

Here, she sighed and continued in a slightly sullen voice.

"There really isn't any more concrete information. Accounts in several of the books seemed more like ghost stories than facts, and there are dozens of instances where two books wrote the complete opposite of each other. Honestly, trying to cross reference was a nightmare." Hermione finished with a scowl. Then she raised an eyebrow as the silence started to stretch.

"What?"

Lee was the one to answer her question. " _This_ is you 'not looking into a subject as much as you'd have liked'?" He asked, eyebrows raised clear to his hairline.

Hermione huffed.

The twins seemed to shake themselves.

"That's not really a surprise-" Began Fred (probably).

"-Like you said," continued George (most likely), "Magi don't really interact with Wizards.-"

"-It used to be more common around the Founder's time, and downright expected going into more ancient times,-"

"-but now it's extremely rare to even see one, let lone meet one.-"

They each shot a grin and a wink at Hermione.

"-Completely unheard of to be taught by one. Which mean-"

"-he's probably expecting a bunch of questions. So you-"

"-can start to fill in those knowledge gaps when classes start up."

Hermione brightened up considerably as George (or was that Fred?) continued.

"But anyway,-"

"-part of the problem is probably that the library has books written by people in different centuries and countries, each with-"

"-a different experience with Magi. English Wizards are a bit more fond of Magi because we can recognize-"

"-and quantify how helpful they can be what with them helping build Hogwarts.-"

"-With how sporadically they appear in recent history, though, it's getting harder and harder to get a read on them-

"-and we're already working with limited knowledge of their society. It's honestly a little surprising that people are still willing to look for actual information-"

"-rather than it turning into a rumors game, you know?-"

"-So, while we acknowledge the good side of Magi, with them being out of touch so much people-"

"-most particularly the Ministry-"

"-are starting to focus more on how powerful they are.-"

"-And that goes hand in hand with how much of a threat they might be."

The twins got several alarmed looks at that. Fred (possibly? Harry's head was starting to hurt trying to keep track. He was grateful that the twins seemed to be trying to make the explanation as painless as possible, rather than sticking to their usual goal, which was, in a word, chaos. Why, they were practically speaking full sentences each!) was quick to reassure, "Of course, that opinion has only just started to gain ground in the Ministry within the last few years. There are-"

"-a few families who have held it for awhile, but for the most part-"

"-public opinion is still firmly that Magi are pretty benevolent. Even some of the-"

"-historically dark families agree that they're more of an asset than a liability."

Hermione nodded, catching on, "Which explains why Umbridge had such an extreme reaction compared to everyone else."

The twins nodded, before finishing together, "All in all, if the Ministry is really trying to take over like you say, having a Mage as a professor is a pretty big wild card, a game changer even."

They suddenly dropped their sober expressions.

"But enough of the explanations!-" Fred (George?) exclaimed with a grin.

"-We'll have to deal with plenty of those on Monday! It's our first night back and-"

"-tomorrow's Saturday!"

"Let's party!" They crowed together. The suggestion was met with a roar of approval from the students before they eagerly complied.

As the noise level started to rise, Harry let out a sigh of relief. The year was starting off much better than he had thought it would. He had avoided gaining another incompetent Defense professor and if Dumbledore had hired a Mage, who were apparently widely renowned for their power, they might have gained an indispensable ally. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all?

* * *

 **So this was supposed to be a Thanksgiving update...then a Christmas update...then an Easter update...then an after exams update...yeah. My bad. In my defense, I was trying to figure out the plot. So far, I was just working with the idea 'Yugi teaches at Hogwarts in fifth year' which is fine as a starting point, but would end with me writing myself into a corner in no time and the story quality would plummet, crash, and burn. Unfortunately, I am still very fuzzy on plot details, but I definitely have more than I started with so...yay?**

 **That being said, I have a project I'm working on for school that I'm trying to get done before my semester starts, so I may or may not upload another chapter within the month. You definitely won't have as long a wait for chapter 5 as you did chapter 4, though- promise! Thank you all for putting up with me! And huge thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed (I've read every one)!**


	5. Chapter 5

_As the noise level started to rise, Harry let out a sigh of relief. The year was starting off much better than he had thought it would. He had avoided gaining another incompetent Defense professor and if Dumbledore had hired a Mage, who were apparently widely renowned for their power, they might have gained an indispensable ally. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all?_

Chapter 5

' _Or maybe I should just stop trying to tempt Murphy_.' Harry thought grumpily.

His weekend had rapidly gone downhill after the party had ended late Friday night (or, more likely, early Saturday morning) when Professor McGonagall had returned to Gryffindor Tower in order to finally shoo the students off to bed. Rather than slipping peacefully off to sleep, he had gotten into a row with Seamus over last year's events and the subsequent stories in _The Prophet_. Not only were they _still_ not talking to each other here on Monday, but the dormitory had also been divided into sides, making it extremely uncomfortable to spend any time there.

Between the stilted atmosphere and the nightmares, Harry realized he had been far too optimistic to hope that sleep would come to him more easily at Hogwarts than at the Dursley's.

To make matters worse, Professor McGonagall had just finished passing out the schedules and, apparently, the universe had decided that he hadn't suffered enough yet. Harry heard a thump and looked over to see Ron groaning with his head on the table _._ ' _Well, at least somebody else feels the same way. Almost forgot what that felt like_ '.

"This is perfect!" Hermione exclaimed.

' _It was nice while it lasted_.' Harry thought sardonically, fighting a sigh. Though, he _was_ glad that the remaining irritation stemming from the argument she and the twins had had at the beginning of breakfast about their new products had finally began to disappear.

"Perfect?!" Ron said incredulously, leveling Hermione with a mild glare when she glanced at him, surprised. "What's so perfect about double potions with the Slytherins first thing every Monday morning?!" Harry gave her an expectant, if mildly annoyed, look.

"What- ", She began, then stopped and rolled her eyes when the complaint registered. "Oh, honestly, you two, did you not read your schedules past this morning?" Hermione said exasperatedly.

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably as Ron gave a sheepish "Er, no?". Hermione raised an eyebrow and gave them a look that clearly said, ' _Well? Get on with it_ ', prompting them to look down at their schedules again.

.

~oo0oo~

 **Mr. H. Potter**

 _._

 _Weekday meal schedule:_

6:30- 8:25...Breakfast

11:30- 12:55...Lunch

5:30- 7:00...Dinner

 _._

 _Weekend meal schedule:_

7:30- 10:00...Breakfast

12:00- 1:30...Lunch

6:00- 7:30...Dinner

.

 **Monday**

 _Morning classes:_

8:30- 9:25...Free

9:30- 10:25...Potions

10:30- 11:25...Potions

 _Afternoon classes:_

1:00- 1:55...Defense

2:00- 2:55...Defense

3:00- 3:55...History

.

 **Tuesday**

 _Morning classes:_

8:30- 9:25...Herbology

9:30- 10:25...Charms

10:30- 11:25...Charms

 _Afternoon classes:_

1:00- 1:55...Transfiguration

2:00- 2:55...Transfiguration

3:00- 3:55...Care of Magical Creatures

.

 **Wednesday**

 _Morning classes:_

8:30- 9:25...Free

9:30- 10:25...Potions

10:30- 11:25...Potions

 _Afternoon classes:_

1:00- 1:55...Defense

2:00- 2:55...Defense

3:00- 3:55...Free

 _Night classes*:_

12:00- 12:55...Astronomy

.

 **Thursday**

 _Morning classes:_

8:30- 9:25...Herbology

9:30- 10:25...Charms

10:30- 11:25...Charms

 _Afternoon classes:_

1:00- 1:55...Transfiguration

2:00- 2:55...Transfiguration

3:00- 3:55...Divination

.

 **Friday**

 _Morning classes:_

8:30- 9:25...Herbology

9:30- 10:25...Transfiguration

10:30- 11:25...Divination

 _Afternoon classes:_

1:00- 1:55...Defense

2:00- 2:55...History

3:00- 3:55...Care of Magical Creatures

.

 _Gryffindor fifth year joint classes:_

Potions- Slytherins

Herbology- Hufflepuffs

Care of Magical Creatures- Slytherins

.

* _Students are expected to manage their time and schedules in such a way that they achieve a proper amount of rest. If a student suffers from a condition such as insomnia, or if they believe their work will be affected negatively by a night class, the student should speak to both their instructor and Head of House in order to make any necessary adjustments. This course of action may result in a weekend class, depending on the schedule of both student and teacher. Hogwarts faculty will not be held responsible for poor grades if a student makes the decision to forgo this course of action._

~oo0oo~

.

Harry glanced back up as Ron spoke.

"If you're trying to point out we only have potions twice a week, it only halfway makes up for it." Ron said, squinting skeptically at his schedule.

Harry could practically _hear_ the prayer for patience as Hermione raised her eyes heavenward.

" _No_ , Ronald, that's not what I was trying to point out." She continued without giving him a chance to open his mouth and truly test her self-control, "I was referring to the fact that we have Defense first thing after lunch." Her ire gave way to excitement as she spoke. "I wasn't able to find and ask Professor Muto any questions over the weekend and I was worried his class would be scheduled for tomorrow and I'd have to wait another day to get any answers. Thank goodness that's not the case! And, provided the professor is there preparing for the lesson, if I take a half hour out of the end of lunch break and go to class early, I could ask him some questions without the restrictions of class time!" The last bit was mumbled to herself and politely ignored by the other two.

"Is that why you were stalking around the castle all weekend? I figured you were just trying a new bonding exercise with Crookshanks." Harry teased.

"Oh, very funny, Harry." Hermione shot back, giving him a mock glare. She glanced at her watch. "You two might have a free period, but I need to get going or I'll be late for Ancient Runes." She said, putting away her schedule, Ron and Harry following her example.

"We were just going to head back to the Common Room for a game of chess; we can walk with you for a bit," Ron said, showing some tact for once by trying to make up for whatever he had done to annoy her earlier. ' _It only took him five years to learn_ ,' Harry thought, amused, as they left the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry's amused mood had well and truly soured after Potions, but at least he and Ron had managed to convince Hermione to wait until after the new professor's first lesson to start pestering him for answers. Though, she _had_ still decided to 'make productive use of the extra time' and had begun penning down a long list of questions, lest she forget anything she wanted to know when she finally had a chance to ask about it (as if).

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts when he nearly bumped into Hermione, who had frozen at the entrance to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He looked at Ron to ask what happened, but upon seeing him shrug, turned back to Hermione who still hadn't moved. "Er, Hermione-?," he began, but was cut off by a soft chuckle from inside the room. As he and Ron tried to peer around Hermione, an amused voice that Harry recognized as Professor Muto's said, "While I'm glad that you seem to enjoy the redecorations, I'm afraid I won't be able to give the lesson if my students are stuck in the hallway."

This statement seemed to finally snap Hermione out of her daze as she flushed slightly and took quick steps towards a seat at the front of the room. This put her directly in front of the professor, who Harry could now see was leaning casually against his desk.

As he and Ron followed Hermione into the classroom, Harry returned the professor's smile and nod (well, he returned the nod, at least), before glancing around the room and barely preventing himself from freezing, as well.

The room looked about three times larger than it normally did and was divided into three separate sections. The section directly in front of the door to the classroom, and which the three students were currently sitting in, was the most like the Defense classroom Harry was used to. It held rows of long, curved desks all facing the chalkboard at the front of the room, which hung behind the professor's desk. This was where the similarities ended, however. It looked as if all the desks and seats had been replaced, as the new furniture was slightly lighter in color and Harry could see no scratches or ink stains on the surfaces. Though, as he looked more closely, he _did_ see some sort of runic etchings all down the sides of the desks and chairs. The seats themselves now sported plush cushions, as well, each in a different jewel tone. It also looked like the chalkboard had been enlarged and Harry could see the same etchings lining its edges.

The section to the left looked like a miniature library. There were rows of bookshelves, each packed with books and scrolls that were interspersed with different artifacts and what looked like puzzles. Silk curtains, colored so that they matched the seat cushions, lined the walls and beautiful rugs covered the floor, brightening up the space. The sections of the walls that weren't covered in curtains were instead covered in what Harry guessed were Egyptian hieroglyphs. Under the rugs he could see dark wood flooring that matched what was under his feet.

The space to his right was much more open. Instead of wood, the flooring was some sort of dark tiling, on which several large circles were marked out with chalk. Rather than a line, however, Harry could see that the circles were made by stringing together more of the strange runes. More cushions lined the perimeter of this section. Like the section to the left of the room, two of the walls had hieroglyphs carved into them. Instead of curtains, though, these walls were lined with an assortment of weapons, mostly consisting of different types of curved swords and staffs. The swords were beautifully designed, with polished blades and handles inlaid with jewels, both of which Harry could see were once again etched with runes. The staffs were all masterfully carved, displaying delicate designs ranging from spirals to flames to leaves and well over a dozen other motifs as well as mesmerizing abstract details. The top of each staff also held some sort of focal point, all about the size of a fist; some had a gem or crystal, others a pearl or piece of coral, a few had what looked like an orb of light ranging in different colors, and one even looked like it was topped with a mass of shadows. The final wall on this side of the room had been replaced with what had to be an illusion.

Rather than the usual conglomeration of castle stone and windows, the wall looked like the edge of a courtyard. White pillars reaching from floor to ceiling and covered in more hieroglyphs and silk curtains replaced portions of the wall. The rest was replaced by a scene that showed pools of clear water and lush plants eventually giving way to towering sand dunes and what may have been the outline of pyramids, or perhaps a temple, in the far distance, all under a bright blue sky. The overall effect of this made it seem as though the classroom sat in the center of a desert oasis.

The final change in the classroom was a collection of colored lights in the form of different sized orbs that floated around the room, mostly keeping to the ceiling and illuminating areas the light from the illusion couldn't reach. As Harry squinted up at them, he noticed that the portions of the ceiling he could see were also covered in hieroglyphs.

"It's like being back in Egypt," Ron said, awe clear in his voice as he stared at the illusion. "Not nearly as creepy as the tombs, though," he amended with a considering look.

"Oh? You've been to Egypt? And to the tombs, no less?" Harry looked over to see Professor Muto giving Ron an interested look.

Ron's ears reddened slightly. "Er, yeah. My brother, Bill, 's a curse breaker. My family took a vacation to Egypt to see him a couple years ago." He explained, his voice gaining confidence as he spoke.

"Ah, a curse breaker, I see. Which Clan does he work with?"

Harry blinked. ' _Clan?_ '

Ron gave the professor a slightly surprised look. "Oh, um, the Ishtars. You know about the Clans?" He flushed after he had asked, likely realizing he sounded rude. "Only, Bill said the Clans really only interact with curse breakers, and since curse breakers aren't diplomats or anything, when everyone just kind of assumes Egypt's Wizarding population is run by a Ministry like England, nobody really feels like correcting them and saying that the Clans are actually the Wizarding government. Though, I guess you're not a Wizard, so that wouldn't really matter to you..." He trailed off from the slightly garbled, albeit fast (had he even taken a breath during that?), explanation with a mumble.

' _A_ _h. Well, that answers that._ ' Harry thought.

Professor Muto gave a light laugh, not seeming at all offended. "Small world! The Ishtars and I have been friends for years," his smile turned mischievous as he addressed Ron's question, "And I should think so, considering the Clans make up about half the world's Mage and Magician population."

"Wait, what?!" The three of them exclaimed together, prompting more laughter from their newest professor. Hermione launched into full interrogation mode, "But, I thought that Magi hadn't interacted with Wizards in centuries! Why wouldn't Wizards have known that the Clans in Egypt are Magi? Oh! I remember reading a little about how the Mage Court was formed- is that what the book meant by clans? If it is, how on earth did Wizards make such a huge oversight?! Why do they care about the tombs, then? Curse breakers always need to go through the Clans to visit a tomb. And what do you mean by Mage _and_ Magician? I thought- wait, did you say _half the population_?! How-" She interrupted herself when Professor Muto held up his hand, still chuckling.

"Slow down! I won't be able to answer your questions if you don't let me." Hermione blushed a bit at the gentle reminder. "Now, it's true that the Mage Court has not had any official contact with Wizarding Society in centuries. Individually, however, there has likely been more contact between Wizards and Magi than Wizarding Society believes, and there has _definitely_ been more contact between Wizards and Magicians, as they're far more common in Mage Society. As for why Wizarding Society doesn't know this…well, in all likelihood they just didn't ask. Wizards and Witches tend to assume that if they interact with another human who can use magic, they must be interacting with another Wizard or Witch. They'd have probably brushed off any glaring societal differences as nothing more than a matter of cultural differences between the two countries.

"As for your questions about the Clans, let's start with why so many Magi and Magicians are connected to them. You see, the Mage Court has always been based in Egypt. As the Court is such a central part of our society, Magi and Magicians naturally gathered there, adding to the population that was already present, and eventually forming the Clans. The original Mage Court was formed in Ancient Egypt, headed by the Pharaoh. This means that traditionally, the Court is run by a monarchy, with the leader still actually bearing the title Pharaoh, but there have been times where that just isn't feasible for various reasons. When this happens, representatives from the Clans form a new, temporary Court until another monarch is chosen, a process that would take quite some time to go over."

He chuckled again when Hermione deflated slightly.

"Because the Mage Court began with the Pharaohs, Magi have always been concerned about the tombs in Egypt. Magi would often be tasked with protecting tombs, both by spelling them and keeping watch over them. Although, the latter was tasked to Magicians more often than not. This duty was passed down through the Clans and is still taken very seriously by them today. When a curse breaker gets shown to a tomb by a Clan member, it's usually one that was finished, traps and furnishings included, but someone decided against using it for one reason or another. That, or it's actually not a tomb at all, but a temple that was sealed either naturally or manually after whatever deity was worshipped there fell out of fashion with the people. No one who is a part of Mage Society would ever allow anyone not approved by the Mage Court to enter a tomb or temple they were tasked to protect.

"As for the difference between a Mage and a Magician, well, that question is actually much more complicated than it sounds. Don't worry," the professor added, seeing her slightly put out look, "I'll be devoting next week to Magical Theory from a Mage's perspective, as well as touching on some of the basics of our social and bureaucratic infrastructure. It should answer some of your questions, and if you still have more, you're welcome to come during my office hours."

Harry very carefully refrained from telling the professor he would come to regret extending such an invitation, and then stepped on Ron's foot when it didn't look like he would be doing the same.

"Whoa!" The three students jumped when they heard Dean's exclamation behind them, having forgotten they had gotten there a few minutes early and were still waiting for class to actually start. Harry avoided looking back as he heard Dean and Seamus take their seats while discussing the Defense classroom's new look.

"It's so pretty!" Parvati exclaimed, heralding her and Lavender's arrival. "And I thought the professor was flashy." Lavender said absentmindedly before slapping her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and turning quickly towards the professor to apologize.

Before she could get a word out, though, Professor Muto waved her off with a cheery smile and said, "If it's any consolation, the hair is natural," prompting startled laughter from the pair as they, too, sat down. His smile widened slightly as he continued, "I've always thought it would be a shame if it was the most eccentric thing about me, wouldn't you agree?" This drew laughter from the rest of the class, and while Harry managed to hold in a snort, he couldn't quite fight his grin.

The pleasant mood was a balm to his soul, and Harry felt himself relaxing for the first time in days as his classmates chattered amiably in the background.

As the bell for class finally rang, Neville jogged into the classroom, slightly out of breath.

"Excellent timing, young man," Professor Muto said with a bright smile and waited as Neville (who nearly tripped when he finally took notice of his surroundings) hurried to a seat.

"Now," he addressed them in a clear voice, "let's get started, shall we?"


	6. Chapter 6

_As the bell for class finally rang, Neville jogged into the classroom, slightly out of breath._

 _"Excellent timing, young man," Professor Muto said with a bright smile and waited as Neville (who nearly tripped when he finally took notice of his surroundings) hurried to a seat._

 _"Now," he addressed them in a clear voice, "let's get started, shall we?"_

Chapter 6

"As you all heard at dinner on Friday, my name is Yugi Muto, and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year." The professor's tone had turned wry when nearly every student had raised a hand before he had finished speaking. "While I understand that you're all curious, whether about my appointment here or the class itself, I'm going to ask that you hold your questions for now."

As students lowered their hands with palpable disappointment, Professor Muto continued, an amused quirk to his mouth, "Seeing as this is a double period, after I take attendance, we'll spend the first part of class going over the syllabus," Harry was mildly impressed when the professor didn't falter (although the amusement definitely grew) after Hermione gave an actual- if contained- _squeal_ of delight, "and the remaining time will be devoted to a more general Q&A." The class perked up at that.

"Now, when I call your name, please indicate that you are here, and after you have received a syllabus,"- he gestured to a stack of papers on his desk that Harry hadn't noticed in his inspection around the room- "I would like you to tell the class what your favorite and least favorite things about Defense are- whether you talk about the class itself or its real world applications is your choice- as well as one interesting fact about yourself. Your answers can be as simple or complex as you like. A good portion of your points in this class will be based on your participation in discussions, and since we won't have time to introduce a topic today, as long as you answer these, I'll consider you to have full points. Alright?"

After flicking his gaze around the room at the nodding students, the professor picked up the top sheet of parchment and what looked like a mix between a fountain pen and a featherless quill from the inkwell beside the stack.

"Lavender Brown."

"That's me!" Lavender gave a small wave from her seat in the second row. "Um…" Her nose scrunched slightly as she thought about her answers, seeming a bit distracted as one of the papers floated towards her. The professor gave her an encouraging nod after making a note on the paper in his hands, most likely marking her present. "My favorite thing was probably getting to meet a celebrity second year. My least favorite is that I don't really see Defense mattering much for my future career, and an interesting thing about me is…rabbits are my favorite animal." She finally decided on.

"Excellent," the professor said when Lavender finished, then paused when she tentatively raised her hand, "Yes, Ms. Brown?"

"Er, sorry sir, but this paper's blank." She said, holding up the parchment.

"Ah, I knew I had forgotten to mention something." He said cheerfully. "Don't worry, they'll fill themselves out as we go through them." He looked back down at the paper in his hands after she nodded.

"Next is Seamus Finnigan."

"Here," Seamus said from the third row. The semi-introductions continued through Hermione, Neville, and Parvati before it was Harry's turn.

"Er, over here," Harry said, raising his hand slightly when the professor's eyes didn't immediately land on him after saying his name and trying to ignore the surreal feeling he got when he realized he couldn't actually remember the last time he had had to introduce himself to someone who didn't already recognize him (and he really didn't feel like analyzing what that said about his person). "Ah, my favorite thing about Defense was, um, learning the Patronus," Harry hid a wince when some of his classmates started muttering about that, having forgotten that that particular spell hadn't actually been part of the curriculum, "Least favorite was-" 'attempted murder by every single one of his Defense teachers so far' probably wasn't the type of answer Professor Muto was looking for- "probably that it felt like we didn't really learn a lot in first and second year. Something about me, um-" he faltered, feeling like he had been caught flat-footed even though he had known this was coming. "I like to fly, I guess?" He finished, relieved when the professor nodded at him and moved on to Dean, and then to Ron.

After Ron had finished, Professor Muto addressed them again. "Well, since you all indulged me and introduced yourselves, I think it's only fair to give a short introduction myself. Let's see…I went to college at the University of Tokyo and earned my Master's in archaeology with a minor in psychology, and this past year, I earned my PhD in archaeology at Cairo University. A friend of mine convinced me to go through an accelerated program, so now I also have a Master's in business with a specialization in entrepreneurship. On the magical side of things, I am a Master Mage, which makes me fully qualified to teach this class. For work, before I was hired here, at least, I split my time between my duties as a Mage, tournaments, and often guest lecturing on the field of archaeology. For leisure, I like playing Duel Monsters, learning new games, and hanging out with my friends. I'm 23 and would like to open up a game shop sometime in the future." He gave them another smile, accompanied by a small bow when he finished.

"Now, I'm sure you're all as eager as I am to start on our syllabus." The smile resembled more of a smirk at the collective (minus Hermione) groan of the class. "The sooner we get started, the sooner we finish, you know," the professor admonished mildly as he exchanged the attendance sheet for another paper.

"Let's start with office hours." He made a motion at the syllabi on his students' desks.

Harry looked down at his paper to see words forming at the top.

.

~oo0oo~

Defense Against the Dark Arts, Year 5

Instructor: Yugi Muto

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00- 5:00, Wednesdays 3:00- 5:00, and by appointment

~oo0oo~

.

"As I said earlier, I do have duties as a Mage, so there will be times when I will be unavailable for my office hours. The Mage Court is aware of my position as your professor, so if anything unexpected comes up, I'll hopefully be given a few days' warning if I need to be somewhere in person, and will be able to let you know when I'll be unavailable rather than just disappearing on you." Several more sections of text showed up as Professor Muto continued.

"Course Aims, Classroom Environment, and Codes of Conduct are in line with Hogwarts's school policy, so I think we can skip over those for now and I'll let you decide if you need to read them over to refresh your memory."

Harry blinked.

"We have course aims?" Ron said quietly, bewildered tone coinciding with Harry's own feelings, and echoed by a few other students around the room.

It was the professor's turn to blink. "You weren't aware?" He asked them, growing increasingly bemused as the majority of the class only shook their heads. Even Hermione could only offer up, "I knew each class has some sort of course aims, but we've never had a teacher go through them."

Professor Muto gave a small hum. "Well, I suppose I should at least give you a quick run down of the Defense course aims. It could certainly help when you're deciding what to focus on in preparation for OWLs next semester." His expression turned mildly apologetic. "I'm afraid I can't help with your other subjects, though I'm sure your professors would be happy to go through them if you ask." Harry absently wondered if the newest professor had ever actually had a conversation with Snape. Given their interaction at the feast, it seemed highly unlikely.

"For Defense Against the Dark Arts, each year has a slightly different focus. The first year is an introduction to defensive and offensive magic for the students. The lessons are mostly theoretical and focus on proper wand waving technique, the differences between hexes, jinxes, and curses, and an overview of common hexes. Any practical lessons would involve simple spells to counter these common hexes. You shouldn't need to spend very long reviewing the material from this year. As long as you understood the textbook, you'll be fine.

"Second year lessons are meant to involve slightly more complicated spells. These are still mostly centered on defending against hexes, although the hexes aren't quite as common as the ones in first year, but common jinxes should also be overviewed. An ambitious professor might even discuss simple defensive measures for a few common magical creatures. The class should also have showcased some prominent figures related to the field of defense such as famous aurors, dueling champions, or dark lords. It isn't unheard of for some professors to go over dueling etiquette and let students simulate a few duels."

"You mean that guy actually kind of followed the school curriculum?" Dean said under his breath, voice somewhere between awe and horror. Professor Muto raised an eyebrow at that, but continued.

"Third year should have focused almost entirely on common dangerous magical creatures and how to use magic to defend yourself against them if need be. Fourth year lessons are meant to delve more deeply into jinxes and start introducing some common curses, although it looks like you guys focused more on curses than usual.

"This year is meant to be a review of past material, or to teach anything that may not have been covered in previous years for whatever reason, and should have a much heavier focus on the practical applications of the course.

"And finally, the curriculum for sixth and seventh year is geared towards students who wish to become aurors. They cover curses extensively, go over what to do in different practical situations, and discuss work relations between the ministry and the DMLE. With permission from a professor, students who don't wish to become aurors, but still want to further their Defense education can self-study for these years." The professor paused after the short lecture and swept his gaze around the room once again, taking in the blank eyes sported by a majority of the class. Harry couldn't blame them- he had begun to zone out around the explanation of the third year curriculum, and had only forced himself to tune back in with the knowledge that every plot he had been involved in could in some way be traced back to his Defense teachers. Harry held onto the hope that having some warning about the curriculum for his upcoming years would give him a needed edge in future schemes (yeah, he didn't really believe it would work, either).

"Everyone follow that?"

"Yes, professor." Came the somewhat dazed response from the students. Professor Muto clearly didn't believe them, but nodded anyway, "Right, then let's move on to what you'll be graded on," he said, causing the students to shake themselves and turn back to their papers.

Harry's brow furrowed slightly. ' _Didn't this use to be shorter?_ ' He thought, bemused. As the parchment had filled with writing, it looked as though the paper had elongated to accommodate for space, and each student was now staring at a small scroll. Harry unrolled the bit at the top that had started to curl, and the paper once again shortened, showing the amount of writing that would fit on a single sheet. Rolling the top back up once again elongated the bottom of the page and revealed the newest sections of writing. He blinked. ' _Huh. Useful._ '

Harry tuned back in as the professor continued, "As I mentioned earlier, discussions will be a large portion of your grade. 25%, in fact. I know that number sounds daunting now, but we will be having two discussions almost every week, so there will be ample opportunity to earn those points. These discussions will be centered around practical applications of whatever that week's topic is. I'm not expecting any groundbreaking discoveries here; as long as your comment or question contributes to the topic we are discussing, you shouldn't have any problems.

"Next, we have homework and assignments, worth 25%. Discounting this week and your exam weeks, every Monday, I'll expect you to hand in two papers. One paper will summarize how the previous week's lessons apply to real life; you will be allowed to draw ideas from that week's discussions, but do not copy someone else's thoughts down word for word, or I will consider it plagiarism. The second paper will be a summary of what you learned and the practical applications of said lessons from the field trip we took the previous week. We'll discuss the field trips in a few minutes," he deflected when several students raised their hands. The class reluctantly turned back to the syllabus as Professor Muto continued.

"For every two or three topics we cover, we'll have a quiz. I've designed them to function like miniature versions of your OWLs in order to get you all used to the format, and, while it won't be graded, your midterm will be a cumulative version of these quizzes, and much closer to what your actual OWL exam will look like.-" Harry was pretty sure Hermione was making plans to build their newest professor a shrine at this point. "- These quizzes will be worth 15% of your grade.

"On the subject of your OWLs, your Defense OWL will also be worth 15% of your grade in this class. And for the final 20%, I will expect each of you to write a paper, which will be due about two weeks before your finals." Professor Muto gave an amused huff at the dramatic groans coming from his students. "I'm giving you all year to work on it, and your other assignments are pretty much the bare minimum I can give you while still making sure you're prepared for your OWL," he told them unsympathetically.

"Now, for this paper I want each of you to choose an aspect of the Magical world and study it from the perspective of Britain's Wizarding world, and at least one- but no more than two- other culture of your choice. You will need to consider and explain in depth how this piece of the Magical world affects you and the world around you as you are currently familiar with within your own culture, and then you are to examine it again from the lens of the second culture. Then, I want you to research and explain why any significant cultural differences, or lack thereof, exist for the topic you chose and make a case for the pros and cons for the manner in which each culture handles your topic. You can be as opinionated as you like for this part of the paper; I won't begrudge any of you your thoughts so long as you have sufficient supporting evidence to back them up.

"I am not putting any restrictions on what you are allowed to choose for your second culture; as long as you can research your topic effectively, I see no reason to limit your options. Choosing another Wizarding community is perfectly acceptable, but I encourage you to branch out beyond the Wizarding world.

"The topics you can choose from are slightly more constrained. I won't outright ban anything, but I will be making sure what you choose to study is focused enough that you won't have problems writing about it. I'll meet with each of you for about ten minutes during my office hours the first week of October to discuss what topics you might be interested in and possible research avenues, and I expect you finalize this with me two weeks before your Christmas break _at the very latest_ ," he stressed, "The sooner you finalize your topic, the sooner you can begin researching, and then writing you paper. I'll check in with all of you once more around Easter, and, as I said earlier, the final paper will be due mid-May."

Professor Muto sighed at the mixture of panicked and giddy (Hermione) looks he was getting from his students.

"Calm down. Like I said, you have all year to work on this. As long as you break it up into chunks to work on it, you'll be fine. If you put this off until the last minute, however, it will not end well for your grade." Professor Muto gave them all a very stern look as he said this.

"I am also perfectly happy to meet with you on a more regular basis than what I'm requiring. That's what my office hours are for, after all." The stern expression was replaced with a reassuring smile as the class gave a collective sigh of relief.

"The requirements such as length and the writing structure I expect you to follow are listed on the syllabus, and I'll have you read those on your own to save us some time."

The professor chuckled again at the looks of disdain most of the students had begun to direct at the paper in front of them. "Don't worry, we're nearly done now; the grading scheme was the worst of it."

He looked back down at the paper in his hands. "Let's skip down a little to the very bottom of your syllabus, where there should be a calendar. This calendar will automatically record any assignments I give you, so I will not accept any excuses about forgotten due dates," Professor Muto gave them another strict glance as he said this, "It only shows one month at a time and is preset to the current month, so if any of you want to look ahead into the year, just write the name of the month you want to see directly over where the current month is listed at the top, and it will change. The calendar will reset itself to the current month whenever you put the paper away. It will also record anything you write down until you cross it out, so feel free to use it like a planner if you like. At the end of each month, your updated grade in this class will also automatically be shown at the bottom of the page."

Forget shrine, if Professor Muto declared himself a Dark Lord, intent on world domination in the next five minutes, Harry was absolutely certain Hermione would sign up as his right hand woman, with enthusiasm. He shuddered. Thinking about 'Hermione' and 'world domination' in the same sentence was, frankly, nightmare-inducing. Not that he thought Hermione would be an inhumane ruler or some such rot. The terror came from how very aware he was of how _capable_ she would be at it.

Harry shook himself as Professor Muto continued. "For most of the year, the weekly schedule will be the same. The exceptions are this week, next week, and your exam weeks. This week, I need to find out exactly what it is we need to focus on for review before your OWLs. Which is why on Wednesday, I'll be giving you a test," he ignored the groans once again coming from his students, "Since I am only trying to evaluate what you are in the most need of reviewing, this test won't count towards your actual grade. The first half of the class will be a written test, and I'm making it open notes," the professor laughed good-naturedly as the students' groans gave way to cheers.

"Now, that doesn't mean you don't have to prepare for the test at all. If you have to look up every question, you won't even get halfway through before your time's up. The second half of class is going to be a test on practical spell work and I'm not going to allow notes for that, so don't slack off too much," he warned with a grin. "And remember, the better you all do, the less we have to review, which will let us focus on what you really need help on." He chuckled again at the resigned nods from his students.

"I'll grade your tests and have the review schedule for this class drawn up by next Monday. That will also be when we go over the results for this," with a wave of the professor's hand, the remaining papers that were stacked on his desk was distributed amongst the students.

"A survey?" Parvati asked.

"Exactly," Professor Muto confirmed, "This year will be the year you all decide on what upper level classes you want to take. Unless you want to take all of them and keep your options open, the upper level classes you each take will coincide with your career goals. While that's all well and good, you're all only fifteen. You haven't seen enough of the world yet to have more than a vague notion of what you might want to do. I want to mitigate that a bit by offering you the opportunity to explore.

"So, these surveys have a list of some common and some not-so-common career choices. Of course, we won't be able to thoroughly go through all of these, so I'd like each of you to number each choice based on how much you want to explore said career. If you do not see a career you would like to look into, just add it to the list. When you number the choices, 'one' would be the career you most want to explore, while the career you least want to explore would have the number equal to however many choices you have on the page. The careers with the lowest score will be the ones we'll look into more closely. If one of the careers that you want to look into doesn't fit this criterion, I'll help you research it on your own, but this is a pretty small class and we'll be looking at at least fifteen to twenty of these, so I don't think that's likely to happen."

The professor paused briefly, thoughtful. "Feel free to include non-magical careers, as well. It won't be difficult to set any of you up in a program where you can take your GCSEs if that's what you want, and I'll be happy to write letters of recommendation if you'd like to continue on to University, afterwards."

"What's this bit about house points at the end?" Dean cut in when the professor paused again.

"Ah, that." He looked faintly amused. "I was a bit skeptical when I was told this school still uses the gold star system to reward good students. So, I decided to let each class decide how they want to be rewarded. As Mr. Thomas pointed out, at the end of the survey there is a question addressing this. If you still want house points, that's fine, but if you want something more tangible such as extra credit points, make sure you mention that, and we'll discuss the results at the same time as the rest of the survey," Professor Muto seemed to examine them briefly for signs of confusion. Finding none, he continued on. "The surveys themselves will be due Friday, which will also be our first field trip day. And which we'll discuss as soon as I go over our usual weekly schedule," he deflected a second time, chuckling when some students actually pouted.

"For this schedule: on Mondays, we will go over theory for the first half of class, and in the second half, we will have a discussion on how our topic has practical application in our lives; for the first half of the class on Wednesdays, we will do practical work- usually spell work, but if we get caught up on what you need to review, there are plenty of ways beyond spells to defend yourselves and I'll be more than happy to teach them to you-, and then we'll have another discussion, this one more centered on how we can improve your skill set in regards to the technique we're learning, and its…combat effectiveness, for lack of a better term; and finally, as I'm sure you all could guess, on Fridays, we'll be going on field trips.

"Which brings us to our final topic on the syllabus."

* * *

 **Wow, this is late. Sorry about that; life kinda socked me in the face. Sorry if this chapter is a little boring. Apparently, I can't write about school without** ** _actually_** **writing about school. Can you tell I started writing this at the beginning of my semester? Next chapter should hopefully be more interesting, though.**

 **Also, had so much trouble getting the last chapter up, I apparently didn't check if it was my final edit. That's fixed now. If you don't feel like re-reading it, you won't be missing anything essential; I basically made a small part of the explanation Yugi gave Hermione a little clearer (I hope), and then fleshed out the ending a little more.**


End file.
